


The Beauty of the Beast

by ElementalRose21



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Dark, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Marriage of Convenience, Original Character(s), Royalty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 22:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17272025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElementalRose21/pseuds/ElementalRose21
Summary: Her eyes fall upon the castle that sits atop the hill. Attention lingers on the crest carved against its sturdy structure. The sigil of Saltzman family waving against the winter monsoons, there was peace in her heart. It was over, the great war that forever change the history. A past never deemed to be repeated but is bound to be remembered until the next generation. The chills of the story her father the Marquis of White Rock used to tell them. The horrors of the Northerners mutiny against peace and orderly forever carved to her mind. Of once how these white walls painted in red and the stench of pain and cruelty famished this very land she loves. But because of her father and the efforts of the mighty Mikaelson lineage of kings, the nightmare was over.But when a problem had stricken the fate of Josie's beloved homeland, she is about to trade herself for their salvation. Ready to gamble her cards up against the Northern lands even if she has to give up her freedom and be forever tied with one of them.





	The Beauty of the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> First of all Happy New Year, hope you had a great celebration. And welcome to my very first attempt to a Posie fic. So this one is kind of different since I am introducing characters from scratch and I would love to venture each of every character in the story. So there will be a lot of building here not only of the characters at hand but also the universe they are into. Some characters may still resemble their tv shows personality and that is that. And I am also introducing a lot of new characters in this one, just supporting ones since this will be a bigger universe to be ventured upon. Anyways I'll be not talking much so hope you enjoy the first one.

 

 

Fall is her favorite season of the year. Must be the rustling leaves, the fiery auburn coloring the streets contrasting the white pristine walls of the city called the proud trading of the South. Islesbury, commonly known to folks as White Rock.Home to a sacred place called Mystic Falls and birth place of this young countess of the Southern regions of Aseawiel, a flourished kingdom of the once unified lands of Theissa.

 

She sat atop the highest tower that belongs to a church situated at the heart of White Rock, as she counts the amount of falling leaves against the hard-bricked ground. The beauty of the sunset contrasting her hazels as the sphere that puts a blazed the darkening horizon. Painting it with hues of violet, vibrant magentas and dying yellows.

 

Lady Josette or Josie as she wanted people to call her always loved this silence where the world would spin just right before her eyes as she is locked up away in some tower without noises or disturbances. _No one will ever notice her absence_. She always says that to herself, unlike her twin half who stands out most the time. Josie isn’t much of the gal in the spotlight, the apple of everyone’s eye, that was Lizzie and never Josie.

 

Her eyes fall upon the castle that sits atop the hill. Attention lingers on the crest carved against its sturdy structure. The sigil of Saltzman family waving against the winter monsoons, there was peace in her heart. It was over, the great war that forever change the history. A past never deemed to be repeated but is bound to be remembered until the next generation. The chills of the story her father the Marquis of White Rock used to tell them. The horrors of the Northerners mutiny against peace and orderly forever carved to her mind. Of once how these white walls painted in red and the stench of pain and cruelty famished this very land she loves. But because of her father and the efforts of the mighty Mikaelson lineage of kings, the nightmare was over.

 

But the pain forever stays.

 

“I knew I would find you here.” Her head turns to see a blonde standing few feet from the ledge where she sat. “This was our late mother’s favorite place.”  Her steps silently draw near to where Josie sits. Lizzie’s eyes casted upon the beautiful sunset up ahead. “As father would have described her.” The blonde throws a leg upon the ledge mimicking the Josie’s position. Eyes filled with unexplainable feeling of sadness. “I don’t know what to feel Josie.” Looking at her twin with this question in her voice. “How am I supposed to miss her when I didn’t even meet the woman who brought us to this world? For as long as I could remember its Caroline that had been there when we had nightmares. It was her we run to when we dream, when we are sad and when we can’t explain the things that surrounded us. Am I a bad daughter for not missing her?”

 

Josie can’t find the right words to answer her twin for she too missed her. The woman who she only knew by stories and canvases hanging high up the walls of their palace. The late marquise of the trading south possesses this sky colored eyes, perfect raven hair and this smile, all trapped in paintings. The woman that resembled her in many things and in many ways as their step mother, Caroline, would say. It has been twenty-one years and it still felt like yesterday that Josette, Marquise of the White Rock, betrayed by his own twin brother who believed to be influenced by the ruthless Northerners. She just wished she had met her, like personally talk to her, Josie hopes she too had found her peace where she may be.

 

* * *

 

“Forgive my intrusion Lady Josette, but could I ask a question?” a meek voice trails behind her, breaking the static silence between her and new lady in waiting. Josie feels as the comb that brushes her locks pauses for a second then continues afterwards.

 

“It’s Josie. Just call me Josie. I’m not really particular with titles. And please don’t hesitate to ask.” She smiles back at the girl through the mirror.

 

“But…” the lady in waiting hesitates. “Lady Elizabeth insists…”

 

“Lizzie is Lizzie, Sarah. We may be twins but at some point we stand at different views. So please, Josie will do.” The countess knew Lizzie can be handful sometimes, often taking most of the servants’ time for her disposal.  But she was kind of different; Josie enjoyed interacting with commoners and the ones who served the Saltzman family. She was often seen in the kitchen if not cooking, then gossiping like any girl at her age. Josie is the only Saltzman heir who tried to wear trousers and rode with the horses without their father’s permission. Josie was everything Lizzie hadn’t even tried for once in her life. “Anyways, so what was the question?” she adds.

 

“What does the capital look like?”

 

“You mean, Eryndale?” The lady in waiting nods. “Well, Eryndale is the biggest city here in Southern Ends. Heart of the fortified kingdom of Aseawiel, ruled by a distant cousin, the Mikaelsons. Unlike here in the White Rock, their houses are built in red bricks and stone clad walls. Lesser trees and mountain ranges are scarce replaced by bountiful fields where they grow different grains. The place is situated near a vast open sea, where ports are filled with colorful flags of different ships that travels from place to place. Markets filled with fresh fishes not found in the upstream rivers like we have. They have a plethora of flowers; the Juliet rose was my favorite. A small town just right after the outskirts grew the best apples I’ve ever tasted. Then their mead is to die for. Beautiful ball dresses, the great arena, the bricked pathways and even the smell of lavender and peonies in the air. It’s… it’s a great city. And the people as well.”

 

A faint blush creeps against Josie’s cheeks. Remembering a certain someone she recently met the last time they set foot to capital. He is a son of one noble family coming from the southwest lands of Aseawiel. The young man is the typical tall dark and handsome, every girl in her age would swoon over. The way he speaks of courtesy and his adventures in his homeland, the Briar Glen, made her heart skip a beat. Rafael was nothing other men Josie had imagined, he was a straight gentleman through and through. It was easy to fall for a man like that. But when her dearest twin-sister called dibs and claimed him to be the man of her dreams, poor little Josie had to step back. As she always does and watch in distance, how the aspiring knight and the beautiful countess of the province do the things she wants to do with him. There was no way she could put herself above Lizzie because Josie was always Josie.

 

She cares too much.

 

She gives too much.

 

Leaving a little less much more to none for herself.

 

A knock through the door halted Josie from crawling back to that rabbit hole again. “Forgive me milady. Dinner is ready at the hall and your mother, Marquise Caroline, requests your presence at the table.” The brunette affirms her presence and slowly extracts herself from her quarters, bidding a quick goodbye and thank you to her lady in waiting. Josie then starts to stroll down the hallways of the Saltzman castle, wall torches illuminating its white walls accentuated by colors of gold and silver. The illuminating moonlight of the full moon making its presence known through the castle’s windows. The paintings and newly picked mountain flowers decorating each nook of the place Josie called home. Flight to the stairs was fast, here the chandeliers and high ceilings were a dominant scene, to the left she walks past different guards who bows their courtesy to her presence. As soon as the humungous wooden carved doors to dining hall was open, a sight of her stepmother, Caroline, welcomes her. And the now half-filled dining table that used to be filled with everything they could ask for during a meal, but cases are different these days. Lizzie arrives minutes later with a scowl in her face seemingly not amused of what the table offers.

 

“Lizzie.” Their stepmother calls for the blonde you huff at her chair. “Girls this just temporary. We have to conserve food for the upcoming winter. Believe me there is much that this table offers compared to others who are unfortunate enough to have anything in their own household. So please…”

 

“Your mother is in many ways very right.” Alaric made his presence known joining his family at the dining table. It is evident in his face, the lack of sleep and exhaustion. It has been months since he had slept like a baby in his chambers.

 

They gave their thanks and started eating. Lizzie’s mood never changed and ends up toying the food in her plate. “How long do we have to live like this father?” there was a tone in her voice. Josie in the other hand only stuffs her mouth with food just listening to the conversation.

 

Alaric sets his utensils with a thud into the hardwood connecting his eyes to her daughter’s challenging one. “Believe me Lizzie, I am trying to solve this problem. I’ve sent a couple of ravens to the capital addressing our concerns and none of them make it back. Our food supply would only last barely a month and we have to stretch more than we could.”

 

“Then send more!”

 

“Elizabeth!” Caroline hisses. “That is not how you talk to your father. It is not his fault that a great storm had struck the nearby villages and caused a great flood making our trade routes unavailable. Nor it is his fault that a huge rock has covered the tunnel going to the capital. None of this is your father’s fault. Can’t you see your father is working hard day and night trying to solve this. But this is only we could give and being rulers of this nation, we have to make sacrifices for others. We have to conserve until aide will come.”

A pregnant silence blanketed the hall, Lizzie’s eyes casted upon the table. It has been three months since the last food came from the capital, necessities were running low and winter is about to come. It was said to be long one, without food White Rock could be in grave danger. Not of famine but of chaos as well, Caroline’s efforts of keeping the townsmen calm is still working its magic now but who knows when will this peace last when the hunger crawls at their very bones as the day goes by.

 

“I’m sorry” Lizzie says.

 

“It’s okay love. I get it that we all are stressed out. But we’ll get through this as long as we stick together. So please trust and support me. Let’s just hope help is coming sooner than expected.” The three women stands up from their seats and hugged the Saltzman patriarch.

 

_Together._

 

His blue orbs directed glued upon the events unfolding outside his humble abode. He watches as one of his trusted knights releases a raven flapping its wings to different direction. Not South, it spreads its wings against the strong winds of the Northern ends.

 

 Fly and fly it goes.

 

* * *

 

 

“Your grace. A raven has arrived.” A soldier who clads in a heavy armor build in vastealium, a rare ore priced in the Northern ends takes a low bow before five people inside a well illuminated room filled with weapons and different maps.

 

The womanly figure nods and the same soldier didn’t waste a second to pick up his feet and present the said letter latch to a tired bird’s foot.

 

“A message? From who?” A young man who sat in the table speaks his interest on the said parchment.  

 

“South.” The woman answers. “White Rock. Signed by the Marquis himself.”

 

“The audacity of that man. What does he want?” Another figure who sat in the war table speaks with such venom in his voice.

 

“I bet it’s another trap. Schemes of the Southerners never fail to amaze me.” The third man in the table says his piece.

 

“Hush now, Duke Caesare, Duke Freemont and Duke Arthron. Didn’t you teach me how to be calm in every situation. It seems like you don’t practice what you preach. “a smaller girl who sat in a taller chair speaks silencing the three older men. “So, Your grace. What does the Marquis Alaric Saltzman of the Islebury have in mind to astray a raven up in the harsh North?”

 

“A negotiation.”

 

Duke Freemont clicks his tongue. “Your grace. With all duly respect to the Northern throne where you sat. A history must not repeat itself. There are reasons we built walls, there was a great reason we never open our gates. Never again shall that Southern imbeciles step foot in these lands. We don’t need them and we’ll never do.”

 

“It’s not about of how we need them.” A cheshire grin crept in the face of the oldest Duke of Wraithesbane. “Don’t you find it interesting of all the rulers of South, it’s the great King Slayer that needed us. He’s desperate.”

 

“Neither of you are wrong. Duke Caesare is right, this could be at our advantage. So are you Duke Freemont, the Southerners could be setting a trap. But I think the time has ripened enough for us to hide in our walls, we’ve done so much to prepare. It’s time for them to know what the North they have destroyed changed into.” The Queen says her final verdict on the matter.

 

“So, who are you sending?”

 

“Duke Jean Anthony Caesare, you are hereby mandated to ride to White Rock at the break of dawn. I hereby authorize you to do and speak in my behalf; your decision shall represent the Northern throne. Do what you deem is right to do. This whole council trusts you and your judgement in every matter you may come across in this journey.”

 

“But…” Duke Freemont tries to refute.

 

“Shall we call it an evening. Thank you for counsel on the matters laid upon.” The Queen extracts herself from the center chair where she sat. “Duke Freemont, I believe you have a ruin yet to survey in your region and I shall see its findings before the week ends. Duke Arthron, the aqueducts of southern Stratham need to be finished before the first strike of winter, I trust you upon that. And…” Her eyes pans to the smaller girl. “Duchess Leilah, you need rest.”

 

“I am not a kid, your Grace.”

 

“I am not treating you like one. You’re a duchess of the north and you act like one. But let us not forget you are a nine-year old girl. I’ve taken away so much of childhood, no games, no field running instead you sit in rigid table setting like this. But I cannot take away the needs of your age. You need to rest, trust me I would never underestimate you and your potentials.”

 

There were nods, courtesies of retiring for the night until only the oldest Duke and the Northern Queen was left to discuss last few details of the journey ahead them. “I assume you won’t fail me, Joakim.” he smiles hearing that nickname the Queen used to call him before all of this nobility came fawning over their very lives.

 

“Your Grace. I’ve waited all my life for this moment. I’d rather be executed at the Crows’ Harbor if miss this chance.”  He dunks another cup of ale to his lips tasting the sweet grape intertwined with its bitter bite. It was as if he was tasting his own victory.

 

“Safe travels.” she says.

 

“Good riddance, Penny.”

 

He picked up his feet and the Queen of Northern Ends was left with only a chalice of good old wine at her hand. Her hazel orbs casted upon the horizons of the sleeping warm South never noticing the piercing coldness that North is about to unleash.  

**Author's Note:**

> Love to hear about your thoughts. Not gonna promise when is the next one since school is about to start again but i would love to continue this. Thanks and kudos.


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